Hazel Mae Stone was born on August 18, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois to Albert Charles and Grace Mary Lombard. She was raised by her mother and greatly influenced by her grandparents Louis & Ellen Lucha and her Uncle Bill, all of whom she lived with until her mid-teens. She was raised in the great depression, and the values of being thrifty were instilled in her from a very young age. She used to joke that she was ‘Scotch’, even though she was VERY Irish. Hazel had many nicknames. Some of them were: Short Stuff, Peanut, Toots, Hazel Mae, Tootsie, Peewee, Hazee, and her children’s favorite, Hertzel Rock.
Hazel graduated from Duluth High School in 1947. Her first job was at Bridgeman’s Ice Cream Parlor. She also worked at the Duluth Steel Mill as an administrative assistant. Hazel met her future husband, Bob, at the local roller skating rink, an activity they both very much enjoyed. They were married May 22, 1948 and he preceded her in death in 1983. They had five children together, Terry born in 1949, Randy born in 1954, Bobby Jr. who died at birth in 1957, Colleen in 1960, and Brian in 1962. She was a devoted wife and mother to Terry and Randy while moving across the country with a trailer mounded with their belongings, first from Duluth to Arkansas, then Hood River, Salem, and finally settling in Portland, Oregon where she lived the last 60 years of her life. She was highly involved with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, serving in several leadership roles in the local den & troop. The family spent many years participating in scouting activities. Hazel was not a swimmer, yet she somehow ended up with a huge swimming pool in the backyard of the home she lived in for over 40 years. After Bob’s passing, she thoroughly enjoyed plowing the pool under and having the yard beautifully landscaped.
Hazel proudly worked for Providence Hospital for 34 years, beginning in 1968, and retiring at the age of 72 in 2002. She loved helping others to succeed, training many a nurse and doctor in the “Hazel” way of medical record organization as well as ensuring that countless patients of Providence hospital were well taken care of. Her work at Providence included being a unit secretary on several floors – her favorite was pediatrics, or “peeds” as she fondly referred to it. After the unit secretary positions succumbed to declining patient census, she attended Portland State University to become a CNA. She worked for a short time in that capacity and decided it wasn’t the job of her dreams. Hazel then completed the final 15 years her career as the highly regarded “Voice of Providence”, the hospital’s favorite switchboard operator.
She was a longtime member of a Bunco group with friends and loved gardening and traveling. She had an adventurous sprit, with 3 boys, how could she not? She and Randy enjoyed multiple trips together, including him flying her to Las Vegas, piloting the plane! She also bravely flew with her husband Bob shortly after he received his pilot’s license. The family often went camping, and Hazel helped to blaze many a trail down the Baja peninsula, long before it became the tourist attraction of Cabo San Lucas. Hazel was often the roadside ‘pilot’ of the family, driving the truck and camper herself and towing a trailer of motorcycles so that the boys could ride. She loved Lake Tahoe, spending several summers there with the family. In her later years, Hazel enjoyed many trips to the Oregon Coast with Brian, where she often mentioned she would like to be a seagull if reincarnation were to happen. Her favorite coastal destination was Canon Beach, where she enjoyed the ocean as well as the many local restaurants there. This summer, family members who are not able to be present today will take a trip to the Coast to sprinkle some of her ashes, so that she will eternally enjoy the beauty and splendor there... and also the seagulls!
Hazel also enjoyed rooting the Portland Trail Blazers on, especially when they won the Western Conference Championship in 1977. She rarely missed a televised game as she planned many of her routine activities around their game schedule!
Hazel took great pride in caring for friends suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s prior to her own diagnosis with the disease shortly after her retirement at the age of 72. Hazel looked to Colleen for loving support as her care needs increased, and relied on her to be “Hazel’s memory” as the disease progressed. She fought dementia for more than 12 years, both gallantly and graciously, with a hilarious sense of humor that was sprinkled with sassiness to the very last weeks. Here at Pacifica, Hazel had a huge impact on the care staff and became a “family member” to many of them. She will be fondly remembered as a devoted Mother, Grandmother, caring friend and pioneering example of being an independent woman.
Hazel would not want us to be sad or distraught that she has passed on. She would want us to celebrate a life that wasn’t always easy, but that was lived well each day.
A Celebration of Hazel’s Life will be held on St. Patrick’s Day, her favorite holiday, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm on Monday, March 17, 2014 at Pacifica Senior Living Portland in the Activities Room, 1808 SE 182nd Avenue, Portland OR 97233. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Oregon Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association or to the Care Staff of Pacifica Senior Living Portland. Arrangements entrusted to Bateman Carroll Funeral Home in Gresham, Oregon.
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